Feeding device for punched cards and the like



Oct. 26, 1965 E. EISSFELDT 3,214,164

FEEDING DEVICE FOR PUNCHED GARDS AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 9. 1961 United States Patent l 3 Claims. e1. 271-41 This invention is concerned with feeding or transporting cards or the like from a staple of cards so as to facilitate rapid processing thereof.

Punched cards or blanks from which such cards are made are stapled for the processing thereof. For the processing of the cards, that is, for the punching thereof or for the scanning of punched cards, the cards are individually transported or fed from the staple so as to pass individually, as may be required, through a punching device or through a scanning device, respectively. Accordingly, a card feed is required in connection with all pertinent card processing machines, which is operative to separate cards individually from the staple and to feed the respective cards individually so as to effect the required processing thereof.

In known machines, each card is by means of an advance or feed member lifted from the staple so that it may be gripped by advance or feed rollers for the required transport thereof. Such an advance and feed device is adapted to transport up to 50,000 cards per hour. The operating speed is limited by the acceleration forces affecting the cards and the card separating gears employed.

In order to increase the flow of cards, for example, up to 120,000 cards per hour, it has been proposed to press the respective cards by suction air against a continuously moving advance or transport belt or against a scanning drum, respectively, and to accelerate the motion of the cards over such belt or drum. In order to keep the frictional forces acting on the cards as slight as possible, it is necessary that the cards are moved, by means of an auxiliary feed device, nearly unloaded to an advance mechanism.

The present invention is likewise concerned with an advance and transport device, generally for carriers provided with desired information, especially punched cards, with the object of effecting particularly rapid advance or feed motion thereof. As contrasted with known and pertinent devices, the device according to the present invention provides a plurality of advance or feed rollers operating with diflferent peripheral speeds, whereby the respective carriers are transported from rollers rotating with low peripheral speed to rollers operating with higher peripheral speed.

The invention will be explained below with reference to the accompanying drawing showing the operating principles thereof.

The feed or transport device comprises three driven advance rollers 1, 2 and 3. The speed of revolution of the respective rollers is, as seen in the advance direction, progressively higher. The first roller 1, operating slowest, is disposed underneath the card supply staple V. Assuming the peripheral speed of this first roller 1 to be m, the speed of the last roller 3 will be just high enough so as to impart to the cards the desired terminal speed. At the instant of the operation illustrated in the drawing, a card K3 is engaged by the roller 1 which accelerates such card as soon as the card K2, disposed therebelow, is gripped by the roller 2 which moves such card K2 away from the roller 1. The roller 2 rotates with a peripheral speed higher than that of the roller 1, and the card K2 is accordingly drawn from underneath the card K3. The

3,Zl4,lii4 Patented Oct. 26, 1965 card K3 is thereby additionally driven by frictional engagement with the card K2, while the weight of the remaining staple V acts as a braking force thereon. Accordingly, the roller 1 is only loaded by the acceleration force and by the difference between the driving and frictional braking force. The friction between the roller 1 and the card K3, which is to be accelerated, is thereby such that shifting of cards is obtained even in the presence of staples of considerable height and conco-mmitant relatively high frictional forces.

In accordance with a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the roller 1 is arranged, as shown in the drawing, spaced from the rearward edge of the lowermost card by one-fourth of the card length. The spacing between the drive rollers 1 and 2 amounts to exactly the length of a card, and the spacing of the drive roller 3 from the roller 2 amounts to three-fourths of the length of a card, so that the roller 3 is spaced by one card length from the card exit gap S. The result of this arrangement is that a card, for example, the card K1 is drawn from the gap S at the instant when the card K3 is engaged by the roller 1. The width of the gap S corresponds to the thickness of two cards, so that only two cards can at any time occupy this gap. Assurance is thus reliably obtained that no card is prematurely separated from the staple, which would result in irregular card feed.

The speeds of revolution of the advance rollers are in a practical embodiment as follows: The speed of revolution of the roller 1 (n1) amounts to one-third of the speed of revolution of the roller 2 (n2). The speed of the revolution of the roller 3 (113) shall be higher than the four-fold speed of revolution of the roller 1 (n3 4n The speed of revolution of the roller 3 is determined by the desired card acceleration.

The invention is not inherently limited to the precise embodiment described herein. It is within the scope of the invention entirely possible to provide in serial relationship more than three rollers, rotating with different peripheral speed, so as to obtain in the case of punched cards, the card speed required for the feed of information without damaging the cards by the momentarily occurring acceleration forces.

The invention is adapted for use, in analogous manher, in connection with any kind of applicable information carriers, so long as they are in a form suitable for sorting, that is, for example, for punched card sections, magnetic cards, etc.

It is understood, of course, that known and suitable means may be used for imparting rotation to the rollers 1, 2 and 3 to perform in the described manner.

Changes may be made within the scope and spirit of the appended claims which define what is believed to be new and desired to have protected by Letters Patent.

I claim:

1. A device for feeding and transporting punched cards, especially for the scanning of the information carried thereby, with acceleration of the individual cards from a staple disposed in a container, to the speed required for the scanning thereof, comprising at least three serially ar ranged feed rollers having means to drive the same at successively increasing peripheral speeds, whereby the cards are transported from the rollers with low peripheral speed to the rollers of higher peripheral speed, said container being constructed to permit the simultaneous withdrawal therefrom of two cards, the slowest, first roller being arranged underneath the card staple from which the cards are to be transported and engageable with the underside of the lowermost card, each of said successive feed rollers having a cooperable idler roller, each feed roller of a pair constituting the driving roller being engageable with the top side of the card, the spacing between t. the first roller underneath the card staple to the next feed roller corresponding to one card length, and the spacing between the latter feed roller and the third roller being such that a card is gripped by such driving roller just as it is fully drawn from the card staple, the relative speeds of the respective driving rollers being so selected that the leading edge of a leading card will be engaged by the third drive roller at approximately the same time that the following card will be engaged by the second drive roller.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said first roller is spaced from the rearward edge of the card staple by a spacing corresponding to A the length of the card, whereby the third roller is spaced by card length from the roller with the intermediate peripheral speed, the peripheral speed of the third roller corresponding to the desired terminal card speed.

3. A device for feeding and transporting punched cards, especially for the scanning of the information carried thereby, with acceleration of the individual cards from a staple disposed in a container, to the speed required for the scanning thereof, comprising at least three serially arranged feed rollers having means to drive the same at successively increasing peripheral speeds, whereby the cards are transported from the rollers with low peripheral speed to the rollers of higher peripheral speeds, such container having a slot formed therein through which the cards are withdrawn, the width of said slot corresponding to the thickness of two cards lying one above the other, the slowest, first roller being arranged underneath the card staple from which the cards are to be transported and engageable with the underside of the lowermost card,

4 each of said successive feed rollers having a cooperable idler roller, each feed roller of a pair constituting the driving roller being engageable with the top side of the card, the spacing between the first roller underneath the 5 card staple to the next feed roller corresponding to one card length, and the spacing between the latter feed roller and the third feed roller being such that a card is gripped by such driving roller just as it is fully drawn from the card staple, the first roller being spaced from the rear- 10 ward edge of the card staple by a spacing corresponding References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 650,410 5/00 Morin 27136 976,640 11/10 Cowles 27141 2,979,330 4/61 Weber 27136 3,002,748 10/61 Wheeler 271-41 ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

30 ROBERT A. LEIGHEY, ROBERT E. PULFREY,

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Examiners. 

1. A DEVICE FOR FEEDING AND TRANSPORTING PUNCHED CARDS, ESPECIALLY FOR THE SCANNING O THE INFORMATION CARRIED THEREBY, WITH ACCELERATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL CARDS FROM A STAPLE DISPOSED IN A CONTAINER, TO THE SPEED REQUIRED OF THE SCANNING THEREOF, COMPRISING AT LEAST THREE SERIALLY ARRANGED FEED ROLLERS HAVING MEANS TO DRIVE THE SAME AT SUCCESSIVELY INCREASING PERIPHERAL SPEEDS, WHEREBY THE CARDS ARE TRANSPORTED FROM THE ROLLERS WITH LOW PERIPHERAL SPEED TO THE ROLLERS OF HIGHER PERIPHERAL SPEED, SAID CONTAINER BEING CONSTRUCTED TO PERMIT THE SIMULTANEOUS WITHDRAWAL THEREFROM OF TWO CARDS, THE SLOWEST, FIRST ROLLER BEING ARRANGED UNDERNEATH THE CARD STAPLE FROM WHICH THE CARDS ARE TO BE TRANSPORTED AND ENGAGEABLE WITH THE UNDERSIDE OF THE LOWERMOST CARD, EACH OF SAID SUCCESSIVE FEED ROLLERS HAVING A COOPERABLE IDLER ROLLER, EACH FEED 